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Line Organization Structure

Line organization structure is the oldest and simplest form of organization. In these organizations, a supervisor exercises direct supervision over a subordinate. Also, authority flows from the topmost person in the organization to the person in the lowest rung. This type of an organization is also called a military organization or a scalar-type organization. Advantages of a Line Organization • Simple to work • Economical and effective. It also allows quick decisions and efficient coordination. • Conforms to the scalar principle of organization. Further, it promotes the unity of command. • In a line organization, the responsibility for the performance of tasks is fixed upon definite individuals. Therefore, there is accountability of delegated tasks. • There is excellent discipline in a line organization due to unified control and undivided loyalties. • The overall cost of running the organization is low due to the non-involvement of staff personnel. • It is a stable form of organization. Disadvantages of a Line Organization • A line organization can suffer from a lack of specialization. This is because each department manager is concerned only with the activities of his own department. Therefore, employees are skilled in tasks pertaining to their departments alone.

Line Organization Structure Line organization structure is the oldest and simplest form of organization. In these organizations, a supervisor exercises direct supervision over a subordinate. Also, authority flows from the top-most person in the organization to the person in the lowest rung. This type of an organization is also called a military organization or a scalar-type organization. Advantages of a Line Organization Simple to work Economical and effective. It also allows quick decisions and efficient coordination. Conforms to the scalar principle of organization. Further, it promotes the unity of command. In a line organization, the responsibility for the performance of tasks is fixed upon definite individuals. Therefore, there is accountability of delegated tasks. There is excellent discipline in a line organization due to unified control and undivided loyalties. The overall cost of running the organization is low due to the non-involvement of staff personnel. It is a stable form of organization. Disadvantages of a Line Organization A line organization can suffer from a lack of specialization. This is because each department manager is concerned only with the activities of his own department. Therefore, employees are skilled in tasks pertaining to their departments alone. These organizations can overburden a key man or a few key-men to the extent of their breaking point. Also, in the absence of a staff aid, if a strong man seizes the organization, he can run it arbitrarily. Such arbitrary power can lead to a considerable damage to the organization. Such organizations usually suffer from a lack of expert advice. If the line manager has trouble making a decision, there is no expert staff that he can turn to. A line organization is usually rigid and inflexible. In fact, such organizations maintain discipline so rigorously that they can rarely change. These organizations are based on the autocratic system of management. The division of work is not based on any scientific plan but on the whims of the manager. It might stop progress and prevent the unit to work effectively. Such organizations might also encourage nepotism or favoritism based on relationship or friendship. Line Organization structure is useful in the following scenarios: The scale of business is small and the number of subordinates and superiors are few. In continuous process industries Organizations where work is primarily routine in nature Highly automated environments where the skills of the foreman are not important Labor management problems are easy to solve Line and staff organization structure In this type of organization structure two type of authority relationship exists. They are staff and line authority. Staff authorities’ means authority to advice, support and serve the line managers. All managerial functions are practiced by line authority with the help of specialized skill of staff authority. It is modification of line organization and is more complex than it. Staff managers and line managers are distinguished on the basis of their role. There is more specialization and division of work. However conflict may arise between line and staff authority. Merits of line and staff organization structure: 1. The line executives are generalists and staff executives are specialists and they work together with coordination 2. The top level managers are not overloaded with work. Staff specialists give relief in critical matters. 3. There is no concentration of authority at top level only. Even if top level managers are not capable there is no failure because staff managers can help to overcome the problematic issues through proper decisions and specialization. 4. All problems are handled with care and are tries to solve with the help of staff specialists. 5. There is two way communications i.e. from top to bottom and bottom to top. There can be feedback and suggestion with orders too. 6. There is better decision taking and improvement in efficiency. 7. It is suitable for large organization 8. There is better utilization of personnel skills and knowledge. Demerits of line and staff organization 1. It is difficult to establish and is costly too. 2. There is possibility of conflict between the line managers and staff managers. Line managers may ignore staff’s advice and complain that staff doesn’t give right type of advice. Staff managers can complain that their advice is not properly implemented. 3. The allocation of authority and responsibility between the line and staff official I generally not clearly defined. 4. Line managers may be too much dependent upon the staff authority. Staff authority however is not accountable for the result. Sometimes when staff authority do no perform well there may be failure 5. There is wide difference between the approach of line managers and staff managers. 6. There can be reduction of initiative power line authority. SOURCE: https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-management-and-entrepreneurship/organizing/formal-organization-line-organization/ https://notes.tyrocity.com/line-organization-structure/